If one part of an Ely roof is going to let something in, it is the eaves. It is the commonest entry point by a wide margin and there are good structural reasons for that.
It is worth understanding what the detail is before looking at how it fails.
What the eaves actually is
The eaves is the point where the roof stops and overhangs the wall. Several things have to meet there: the rafter feet, the wall plate they sit on, the top of the wall itself, the fascia carrying the gutter, the soffit closing the underside, the roof underlay and the first course of tiles.
That is six or seven components meeting at one line, at the wettest and most exposed part of the roof, and it has to admit air into the roof space while excluding water. It is the hardest-working detail on a house and the one with the most joints.
The four ways it fails
- The underlay stops short. Roof felt is supposed to carry down over the fascia into the gutter. On a great many older roofs it stops at the wall plate, or has perished and torn back, which leaves a continuous gap along the whole roof edge
- The soffit is open or has opened. Older properties often have open eaves by design — no soffit at all, just exposed rafter feet — and later boarding may leave gaps at the wall, at corners and at joints
- The material has softened. Timber fascia and soffit rot from the back where a gutter has been overflowing, and a soft board is easy work
- The tile course lifts. The first course sits over the fascia; a slipped or lifted tile there opens straight into the roof space
Perished felt at the eaves is the classic Ely finding. The roof looks perfect from the ground because the covering is sound. The gap is underneath the tiles, along the whole edge, and it is invisible until somebody looks up into it.
How to check it from the ground
- Stand at each corner and sight along the eaves line rather than at it
- Zoom in on the corners, where soffit boards meet and where the eaves returns onto a gable
- Look for a soffit board that has dropped, bowed or come away at one end
- Look for staining or worn paint at a specific point — a rub mark
- Look at the fascia for softness: a wavy line, or a board that has pulled away from its fixings
- Look in the gutter from an upstairs window: overflowing water is what rots the boards behind it
Why it is worth repairing regardless
Every one of those failures is also a water problem. Perished felt at the eaves lets wind-driven rain onto the wall plate; an overflowing gutter rots fascia and soffit; a lifted tile course lets water into the roof space. The squirrel is a symptom of a detail that needed attention anyway.
It is also why proofing at the eaves uses mesh rather than anything solid: the detail has to keep ventilating the roof space, or condensation replaces the problem that was solved.
Questions
Can I see the eaves gap from inside the loft?
Often, yes — daylight along the eaves at the edge of the roof space, visible from the hatch on a bright day. It is the easiest check there is.
Is an open eaves a defect?
On many older buildings it is original construction rather than a fault, which is why the answer is a discreet closure rather than a repair.
Does blocking the eaves cause damp?
Blocking it solid would. Mesh of the right aperture closes it to animals while keeping the ventilation.
Squirrel Control Ely
Squirrel control in Ely is £280 fixed cost. Proofing work, where it is needed afterwards, is £180. Call 01502 630 122 and tell us what you have heard or seen.
For squirrel control in Ely, call 01502 630 122, or read the Ely squirrel control page.